


Not Responsible

by chicago_ruth



Series: Series of Nots (Harem AU) [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, M/M, Slavery, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-19
Updated: 2012-04-19
Packaged: 2017-11-03 21:50:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/386333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicago_ruth/pseuds/chicago_ruth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwaine gets into trouble when Merlin isn't around. (Merlin has a harem AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Responsible

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gwyntastic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwyntastic/gifts).



Balinor was staying in the castle for a while, having just finished a long diplomatic trip. Gwaine didn't really know the politics of it -- to be honest, he didn't care -- but Balinor's presence meant that Merlin was distracted. It wasn't hard to see that Merlin wanted nothing more than to please his father, and what little free time Merlin had from his lessons was now being spent in the company of Balinor.

Gwaine had been present for the first two meetings, but Balinor was uncomfortable with him there and soon Merlin sent him away. 

"Can I borrow Gwaine for today?" Morgana asked during their morning study session, a week into Balinor's visit. "I'm going to the markets today, I need somebody to carry my things."

"Can't Gwen do it?" Merlin asked, eyeing her warily. Gwaine managed to not roll his eyes, though it was a near thing. Merlin's possessiveness was welcome enough -- it meant Gwaine didn't have to worry about being forced to attend visiting nobles -- but at the moment, Gwaine was bored out of his mind. He'd rather do some physical labor for Morgana than sit around in the rooms for another day.

"Gwen can't possibly carry it all." Morgana pursed her lips into a pout. "Come on, it's not like you'll be needing him today. I know you're going out to practice magic with your father."

Probably a bad idea to bring up magic lessons -- and sure enough, Merlin slammed the book he'd been reading shut and glared. "No. You can't take him."

Morgana hummed and leaned forward. "Really. You'll leave poor Gwaine all by himself again. You _do_ realize he's been completely fidgety all week. And who can blame him; you've been ignoring the poor dear."

That shocked Gwaine almost as much as it must have shocked Merlin. He hadn't realized that he'd been _obvious_ in his boredom, at least not in front of Morgana or the other nobles. Showing too much emotion could get you in trouble, and if nothing else than for Merlin's sake, Gwaine had been trying to not cause trouble.

Still, Merlin gave Gwaine a hard stare. "Fine. Is she right? Do you want to go, Gwaine?"

Oh. That bitch. Now he had a choice of lying to please Merlin, or of getting some fresh air and probably being subjected to an upset Merlin later in the day.

Gwaine smiled widely and said, "Whatever you prefer is fine, master."

Of course, Merlin knew Gwaine well enough to also know that Gwaine lied a lot to appease him. He stood up, grabbed his book, and glared. "Fine. Take Gwaine. I'm going to see my father now."

Great. Barring unusual good fortune, that meant Merlin was going to be in a bad mood that evening. 

At least Morgana seemed to be entertained; she laughed and said, "thank you!" to Merlin's retreating form.

\--

The markets weren't Gwaine's favorite place in the world, least of all for the terrible sense of false freedom they gave him. He'd tried that once; it might have been his third or fourth escape attempt, sneaking away during a shopping session. It had been easier then, of course, given how young Merlin had been, but it wouldn't be impossible now either.

Not that he wanted to leave anymore. Merlin needed him, even if Merlin didn't realize it. Sometimes though -- Gwaine watched some children running through the streets, smiles on their faces, and wished he could have enjoyed that.

"Gwen, do you remember where that seller was who had the lovely silks last time? Nimueh said she wanted a dress made of the same material."

Morgana took them through the streets of the market, absolutely confident in her step. Many of the townspeople bowed to her, in deference of her rank -- sister to the king, and, until Nimueh and Sigan produced a child, the next in line for the throne.

Alvarr, the guard Morgana had taken with her, eyed all people who approached their group with suspicion. He didn't speak much, but Gwaine could respect that -- he took his role seriously, unlike whoever had been in charge of guarding Merlin. Gwaine still seethed at that; all the seers in the damn kingdom collected under one roof, and they couldn't prevent Merlin from suffering as he had. Or maybe they'd let it happen on purpose.

The day dragged on, with the bags of expensive cloth and jewelry Gwaine carried getting heavier and heavier. He didn't get to speak to Gwen either, as she was busy helping Morgana measure out fabrics and pick the best-looking jewelry.

He really should have been paying closer attention. As they walked past the slave markets, a young girl crashed into him with enough force to have him stumble backwards and drop one of the bags he was holding.

"Stop her!" somebody shouted, and Gwaine's instinctive reaction was to shield the girl with his body. She looked up at him with wide eyes, terrified, leaving Gwaine to make a split second decision. 

"Hide in one of the gutters until nightfall," he whispered to her, then pushed her into the crowd and let himself trip into the path of the man chasing her. 

The two of them ended up rolling in the street's dirt and grime as Gwaine did his best to keep the man on the ground long enough to allow the girl to escape. She probably wouldn't get very far, but Gwaine didn't have the heart to deny anybody the chance.

"What is going on here?" Morgana demanded, her voice authoritative over the commotion. 

Alvarr hauled Gwaine up, gripping his arm far more tightly than necessary. It wasn't like Gwaine had any intention of leaving.

"This _slave_ just let my property escape," the slaver shouted. "He deliberately got in my way!" His eyes were glowing gold, but if he thought that would intimidate Gwaine, he had another thing coming. Gwaine was more than used to displays of magical power, after all.

"Gwaine, is this true?" Morgana's tone belied no patience.

Gwaine shrugged. "I tripped."

It was a bad answer; he wasn't really surprised when the first sting of a magical whip cracked across his back. Shit. It had been a while since that had happened. Gwaine grit his teeth and smiled at the slaver.

"Lady Morgana, forgive me, but this slave needs to be taught a lesson," the slaver said.

"Of course. Let's make a public example of him."

Gwen looked at him with pity in her eyes, but he knew she wouldn't attempt to approach him now. Morgana didn't seem like the type to enjoy inflicting pain -- at least, Gwen had never complained of it before -- but under public scrutiny, she was probably trying to show her strength.

Alvarr dragged Gwaine along, both with physical force and through magic, and Gwaine was stripped of his shirt and then dragged to a tall wooden post. The wood was tinged slightly red, as was the dirt around it. Great. 

"Hope you guys know what you're doing," Gwaine said, feeling extra cheeky now that punishment was inevitable. "Try not to leave any marks."

"I would recommend you stay silent from now on." Morgana's eyes were cold, the opposite of how she tended to look at Gwen. It appeared she did have a temper, and Gwaine had just crossed it.

He closed his eyes at the first strike, trying as hard as possible to relax into the pain and failing. His shoulders were absolutely tense, magnifying the pain. He couldn't be sure whose magic it was, rending his back; he only knew it wasn't Merlin's.

The fifth lash was the one that cracked his skin and sent blood trickling down his back. Through the haze of pain, he could feel it causing an itch on his spine. He had to laugh about that, and the laugh turned into a cry of pain at the next flash on magic.

Merlin would be so mad, Gwaine realized. He'd already annoyed Merlin that morning, and to come back in this shape would probably send him into a foul mood for the rest of the week. Gwaine leaned his head against the post and didn't bother trying to strangle his cries anymore. He really should have thought this through -- helping one slave wasn't worth Merlin's wrath.

He didn't know how many of the magical lashes he had suffered, though when he was untied from the post his legs gave out and he slumped to the ground.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you," the slaver called out. "If you try to escape, if you help any of your fellow slaves escape, this is your fate!"

There was another sharp reply on his tongue, but Gwaine didn't have the breath to say it. His body probably couldn't handle another beating anyway. Shit.

Alvarr dragged Gwaine back onto his feet and handed him his shirt and the bags he'd dropped. "You will carry all of this back," he said. 

Gwaine smiled and nodded. "Yes, my lord."

He thought their field trip would have been cut short, but no: Morgana continued leading them around, buying more things, putting more strain on Gwaine's back and shoulders. Of course. This was an extra form of punishment. Let all the people see his bleeding back, let him stew in his pain longer.

Gwaine grit his teeth and bore it.

\--

Gwaine passed out almost the moment they made it back to the castle. He had just enough strength to hand the shopping to another one of the slaves before his mind blanked out completely.

When he woke, he was lying on his stomach in Merlin's bed, with Merlin sitting in a chair he had pulled close. Merlin was reading a book, his face curled into obvious discontent.

Gwaine sighed, tried to prop himself up on his arms, and groaned when the shift in his muscles caused pain to light up across his back. He let himself sink back onto the bed.

Merlin shut the book and placed it on the night table. "Morgana told me what happened," he said, quietly, his voice barely containing his rage.

Right. Gwaine put on a smile but didn't respond.

"Who was it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Who hurt you? Just so I know, because the next time I see the person that dared harm something of _mine_ , I'm going to show him my own brand of punishment." Merlin's eyes were flickering between gold and blue, his mouth was curled into a sneer, and his hands were clenched -- but none of that rage was aimed at Gwaine.

Sometimes, Gwaine forgot the strange twists Merlin's mind took. He overlooked small trespasses, was extremely unforgiving of the larger ones -- Gwaine still remembered that week he'd been locked in the dark room -- and could be so fucking tender that Gwaine forgave him for everything.

Merlin pulled the blanket down and traced the welts on Gwaine's back. "I've had Gaius put a salve on you, and I-- that is, Gaius used his magic to help the healing."

Gwaine caught the slight hesitation; it probably meant that Merlin had _tried_ to heal him but been unsuccessful. He wished he'd been awake to see it, or at least feel it. Even if the attempt only intensified the pain, it was a sign of how much Merlin cared. He worked hard at his magic in order to care for Gwaine.

"Not that I don't appreciate your loving care," Gwaine said, basking in the gentle attention, "but you aren't upset at me? I can't imagine Morgana left the part out as to _why_ I got flogged."

Merlin's fingers stopped moving and rested lightly on Gwaine's back. "I... I shouldn't have let you go. I knew she wouldn't take care of you. And I _know_ you. It wouldn't have happened if I'd been there."

Gwaine tried to imagine it, and found he had to agree. A part of him knew how fucked up it was, that he obeyed Merlin so damn near unconditionally, but hey, at least he was still himself enough to disobey the other mages. Most of the other slaves didn't even have that.

Merlin placed a kiss on the back of Gwaine's neck. "You're my responsibility. I'm supposed to be the one to keep you in line. I'm the one who's supposed to take care of you, or punish you."

Gwaine chuckled. "Thank you, Merlin," he said.

It was a fucked up sense of responsibility that Merlin carried, but Gwaine wasn't going to complain. It was a mild irony that he'd expected the day to end poorly, only to have Merlin be so unusually tender.

Yet another reason why Gwaine would probably never be able to leave. He hoped the girl he'd helped never had an owner like Merlin, or else she'd be trapped as badly as he was.


End file.
